For the third time this season, the Lightning proved too quick for the Isles, holding on for a 4-3 victory yesterday before a matinee crowd of 15,426 at Nassau Coliseum.

“It’s tough to play against them,” said Alexei Yashin, who managed to snap a 12-game scoring drought with a first-period goal. “They have so much speed, and you get a lot of penalties trying to stop them.”

Like other matches against high-powered Buffalo and Ottawa, the Islanders had a hard time dealing with how fast the Lightning play, and wound up surrendering a pair of power-play goals in the first period alone.

“They always seem to capitalize on their opportunities,” said Rick DiPietro, who was not at his sharpest in goal, having played 17 of the team’s last 18 games. Coach Ted Nolan indicated backup Mike Dunham would see the ice soon, but wouldn’t commit to whether he would play tonight in Pittsburgh.

The Islanders had managed points in their previous three games – a pair of victories and the 2-1 OT loss to the Devils on Saturday. But having just ended a six-game losing streak – and playing nine of their next 12 on the road – the Isles certainly could have used a win.

With Tampa Bay stacked with some of the league’s top players, however, the task proved too tough. The Isles are 0-6-1 in their last seven against the Lightning.

After Yashin opened the scoring 3:38 into the first period, the Lightning pounced for two goals, the first by Vaclav Prospal after a questionable goalie interference call on Jason Blake.

The Islanders killed off a 5-on-3 in the second before Martin St. Louis gave Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead in the second. The Isles closed to within 3-2 on a Viktor Kozlov goal with a two-man advantage just over a minute into the third, but Vincent Lecavalier put in his own rebound before the Isles’ Trent Hunter made it 4-3 with 9:20 left.

It didn’t help the Isles faced Richards, St. Louis and Lecavalier, whom Nolan respectfully referred to as “Team Canada.”